Apparatus foe railways



5 D O L Y A T P l FOG SIGNALING APPARATUS FOR RAILWAYS. No. 486,880.

Patented Sept. 28, 1890.

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FOG SIGNALING APPARATUS FOR RAILWAYS. No. 436,880. Patented Sept. 23,189( (No Model.) 5 SheetsSheet 3.

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FOG SIGNALING- APPARATUS FOR RAILWAYS. No. 436,880. Patented Sept. 23,1890.

(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 4. I. I. TAYLOR. FOG SIGNALING APPARATUS FORRAILWAYS. No. 436,880.

Patented Sept. 23, 1890.

(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 5.

I. F. TAYLOR.- FOG SIGNALING APPARATUS FOR RAILWAYS. No. 436,880.Patented Sept. 23, 1890.

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U ITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ISAAC FRANCES TAYLOR, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

FOG SIGNALING APPARATUS FOR RAILWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 436,880, datedSeptember 23, 1890. Application filed October 22, 1889. Serial No.327,830. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I,.IsAAo FRANCES TAYLOR, a subject of the Queen ofGreat Britain and Ireland, and residing at Manor Park, in the county ofEssex, England, have invented certain Improvements in Fog SignalingApparatus for Railways, of which the following is a specification.

This invention for improvements in fog signaling apparatus for railwaysrelates to means or apparatus for the purpose of enabling thesignal-man, when the ordinary semaphore signal-arm is placed at danger,to also place a detonating signal in position to be exploded by a hammeror striker actuated by the passing train or by the wheels of the train,thus dispensing with the services of fogmen during fogs, and has for itsobjects to provide an improved construction of reservoir for holding thesupply of detonators and an improved arrangement of mechanism forfeeding the said detonators from the reservoir to the position for beingexploded when the semaphore-arm is put in its danger position, and,should the detonator previously fed forward be unexploded, of returningit to the reservoir and of removing the case of a detonator exploded bya passing train and for actuating the hammer or striker.

In fog signaling apparatus constructed according to my invention when atrain approaches the semaphore-signal at danger it passes over anddepresses a counterweighted pedal-lever, actuating, by means of a camand detent, a hammer-lever, which forces a detonator on the lever intocontact with an anvil and explodes it, the pedal-lever being retained inits lowered position and the hammer-lever returning by its own weight,the detonator-case being caught by prongs and guided out of theapparatus. When the signal is lowered to safety, the train passes on,and on the signal being again put at danger. a fresh detonator is fedonto the hammer-lever, the detonator previously on the lever, ifunexploded,bein g again passed into the reser voir. When the signal islowered to safety, the pedal-lever is lowered out of the way of apassing train, the detent actuating the hammer-lever being first movedout of the way, and on the signal being again put to danger thepedal-lever is raised, and as soon as the cam actuating the detent haspassed it the detent is returned to position for actuating the hammer.

In the accompanying sheets of illustrative drawings, Figure 1 is a planof fog signaling apparatus constructed according to my invention, andFig. 2 is an elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal verticalsection, to an enlarged scale, showing the mechanism for actuating thehammer-lever and for holding and feeding the detonators; and Fig. 4 isan elevation showing the pedal-lever and the manner of connecting itwith the other mechanism. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the device, partsbeing broken away to morefully display its construction. Fig. 6 is aplan view of the device, showing its connection with the semaphorehand-levers.

Connected to the signal hand-levers by rods 1 and working in suitableguides 2 are sliding rods 3. A projection 4: is provided on each rod 3,so that when any rod is forced forward by the signal-man a sliding bar 5is also carried forward through a definite distance, thesemaphore-signal being then at lineclear. When the rod 3 is withdrawn,the sliding bar 5 is returned to its normal position by a T-shaped lever6, one arm of which constantly bears against a roller 7 in a bracket 8,fixed on the bar 5, another arm carrying the adj ustable counter-weight9, and the'end of the remaining arm being pivoted at 10. The bar 5 canthus be put to line-clear position by any one of the signal hand-levers,and returns to the danger position when all the said levers are in theirdanger positions.

The reservoir for the detonators is cylindrical in shape, and isprovided with a number of symmetrically arranged cylindricalcompartments 11. It is attached to the baseplate 15 by means of bolts,which pass through the corners of its square base-flangaand is open atthe bottom. A feed-plate 13,.11aving openings 14 corresponding to thecompartments 11 and extending to the periphery, works between the bottomof the reservoir and an annular base-plate 15. The plate 15 is square,corresponding with the flange of the reservoir, and the feed-plate 13 iscircular and revolves clear of the bolts which pass through the cornersof the plate 15.

On the lower side of theboss of thefeed-plate IOC 13, which extendsthrough the annular baseplate, is a series of ratchet-teeth a. On acentral shaft 12 is a double-armed pawl 16, engaging with theratchet-teeth Ct and forced into gear by the counterweighted lever 17.The pawl 16 is actuated by the bent arm 18, attached to one end of itand the link 19. Enough spring or play is given to the link 19 to permitthe said pawl to have a slight vertical motion into and out of gear withthe ratchet, and in order that the pawl may be reciprocated back andforth the arm 18 is pivotally connected to thesliding bar 5 by the link19, as shown in Fig. 5. When the bar 5 is moved toward the right to thedanger position, as shown, by the action of the signal-man, the feed-plate 13 is rotated through a space equal to the distance between thecenters of two adjacent compartments 11.

Inorder to lock the feed-plate 13 in position, a rectangular bar 20 isarranged to slide in a hole in the base-plate 15 and take into recesses21 in the plate 13, corresponding to the compartments 11, being forcedtherein by means of the counterweighted lever 22, pivoted at 23, andbeing withdrawn therefrom by means of the bracket 24 on the sliding bar5, acting on one arm of the lever22. The slots 21 are narrowerthan thedetonators, so that the detonators cannot escape through them sidewiseout of the feed-plate.

The pedal-lever 25 is placedclose to'and parallel to one of. the rails,and is pivoted at one end to a fixed support 26. Its other end isconnected by alink 27 to alever 28, mounted on a shaft 29, carrying acounterweighted lever 30, tending to keep the free end of thepedal-lever 25 in its raised position. An arm 31, carrying a cam orroller32, is also mounted on the shaft 29, and when the pedal-lever isdepressed the cam or roller 32 acts upon a detent 33, pivoted at 34 tothe hammer-lever 35, itself pivoted at one end to a fixed support 36.The other end of the hammer-lever normally takes into a slot 37 in thebase-plate 15, exactly opposite one of the compartments of thedetonator-reservoir. This compartment 1), unlike the others 11, is openboth at the periphery of the reservoir and also at the top, and is notprovided with detonators. It will readily be seen that when thefeed-plate 13 is rotated by the action of the signal handlevers and thecompartments 11 are full of detonators the detonator in the feed-plateexactly under that compartment 11 next behind the empty compartment b isfed onto the hammerlever, the other detonators in the feed-plate beingadvanced through one division, and that if a detonator is on thehammerlever it is carried by the feed-plate exactly under thatcompartment 11 next in front of the empty compartment b, and is fedforward at every movement of the feed-plate until it again comes ontothe hammer-lever, and if there is no detonator on the hammer-lever adetonator will drop from the said front compartment into the feed-plateto be fed toward the hammerlever. The compartment 11 next in front ofthe empty compartment 1) is thus first completely emptied of itsdetonators, then the one next in front of it, and so on until all thecompartments are emptied. When the hammer-lever 35 is operated by thecam or roller 32, the free end of the lever is forced to rise, carryingwith it a detonator and exploding it on the anvil 38, the cam or rollerpasses beyond the detent and the hammer-lever again falls, thepedal-lever being kept depressed, the cam or roller having passed beyondthe detent and being prevented by it from returning. When thehammer-lever 35 falls with the detonator-case, the I case is caught byprongs 39, which project within the firing-chamber b, and through whichthe lever 35 works freely and is guided out of the apparatus. The prongs39 are pivoted to a fixed support at 40, so that when the hammer isrising with a detonator they are forced out of the way by the detonator,and as soon as it has passed they return by their own weight. Ontheexplosion of the detonator the train is brought to a standstill untilthe semaphore-signal is lowered to safety,? when the roller 41 on thearm 42, attached to the sliding-bar 5, comes in contact with the arm3land further depresses the pedal-lever out of the way of the wheels ofthe train, and by means of the link 43, pivotedto an arm on the detent33 and to the sliding bar 5, swivels the detent out of the path of itsactuating cam or roller, as indicated by the dotted lines in. Fig. 5.When the train has passed, the semaphore-signal is raised to danger, andthe sliding bar 5 is forced back againstthe projections 4 by means ofthe T-shaped lever 6 and counter-weight 9, causing the feed-plate toadvanceand place a fresh detonator on the hammer-lever; also, the cam orroller passes the detent and allows the pedal-lever to rise, so as to beagain capable of being actuated byapassing train, and the detent isswiveled around so as again to be in the path of the cam or roller. Whenthe semaphore-arm is at danger and is lowered to safety, the detent ismoved out of the way of the cam or roller, and the pedal-lever isdepressed by means of the roller 32, acting on the arm 31 out of reachof the wheels of the train,so that a detonator is not exploded.

NVeights 44, provided with guide-rods passing through the top of thedetonator-reservoir, press the detonators into the feed-wheel when anempty opening comes opposite them.

WVhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. In a fog-signal, the combination, with a series of bars, eachconnected to a separate semaphore-rod and provided with a projec- IICIll

tion, of a sliding bar automatically pressed I against all the saidprojections and adapted to cause a detonator to be placed under theanvil each timeit is pushed in the opposite direction, whereby adetonator may be placed under the anvil by any one of the said bars,substantially as set forth.

2. In a fo -signal, the combination, with a sliding bar for causing thedetonators to be placed under the anvil, of a bar connected spend withsaid chambers, an anvil, and a hammenlever workingin the said openchamber in line with the anvil and supplied with detonators by thefeed-plate, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. In a fog-signal, the combination, with a reservoir provided withaseries of equidistant detonator-ehambers and an open firing-chainber atone side, of a revoluble feed-plate provided with open-ended holesspaced to correspond with said chambers, an anvil, the pivoted inclineddischarging-prongs proj ecting Within said open chamber, and apivotedhammer-lever working in the said open chamber under the said anvil andprongs, whereby the detonators may be exploded and then antomaticallydischarged, substantially as set forth.

5. In a fog-signal, the combination, with the reservoir provided withequidistant detonator-chambers and an open firing-chamber for thehammer-lever at one side, of the feedplate journaled on a centralspindle and provided with holes for the detonators and with a faceratchet-Wheel, a pawl-leversliding vertically on said spindle andengaging automatieally with the ratchet-wheel, and a sliding bar adaptedto be operated by the semaphore hand-lever and operatively connectedwith the said pawl-lever for revolving the feed-plate, substantially asand for the purpose set forth.

6. In a fo -signal, the combination, with the feed-plate journaled on acentral spindle and provided with open-ended holes for the detonators,of a sliding locking-bar engaging with the open ends of said holes, apivoted lever normally holding said bar in engagement with one of theholes, and a hand-operated sliding barprovided with a projection foroperating said lever and withdrawing the lockingbar, substantially asand for the purpose set forth.

'7. In afog-signal, the combination, with the detonator-reservoirprovided with an open firing-chamber on one side, of the anvil, thepivoted hammer-lever working in said chamber in line with the anvil, thepedal-lever pivoted parallel with the rail, a rock-shaft operativelyconnected with said pedal-lever and normally holding a portion of itabove the rail, and an arm secured on said rock-shaft and adapted toactuate the hammer-lever when the pedal-lever is depressed,substantially as set forth.

8. Inafog-signal, the combination, with the pedal-lever pivoted parallelwith the rail, of a rock-shaft operatively connected with saidpedal-lever and normally holding a portion of it above therail, an armsecured on said rockshaft, a pivoted hammer-lever, and a detent on thehammer-lever, whereby said arm may actuate the hammer-lever through saiddetent when the pedal-lever is depressed and subsequently retain thepedal-lever in its depressed position, substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

9. In a fog-signal, the combination, with the hammer-lever, the detentpivoted to said hammer-lever, and the pivoted arm for actuating thehammer-1ever through the detent, of a sliding bar operatively connectedwith the semaphore hand-lever, and a link pivot-= ally connecting thedetent with the sliding bar, whereby said detent maybe moved clear ofthe return path of the said pivoted arm, substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

10. In a fogsignal, the combination,with a sliding bar operativelyconnected with a semaphore hand-lever, of a reservoir provided with aseries of detonator chambers and an open firing-chamber at one side, afeed-plate provided with holes corresponding with said chambers, anautomatic stop normally preventing said feed-plate from revolving, aprojection on the sliding bar for releasing said stop, and intermediateratchet mechanism operatively connecting the feed-plate with the slidingbar, whereby said sliding bar may release the feed-plate and thenpartially revolve it to bring another detonator under the saidfiring-chamber, substantially as set fort-h.

11. In a fog-signal, the combination, with the pivoted hammer-lever andthe anvil in line therewith, of a revoluble feed-plate, a sliding baroperatively connected with said feed-plate and with the semaphorehand-lever and adapted to place the detonators between the saidhammer-lever and anvil, a pedal-lever pivoted parallel with the rail,intermediate trip mechanism for actuating the hammer-lever when thepedal-lever is depressed and then retaining the said pedallever in itsdepressed position, and a link connecting the trip mechanism with thesaid sliding bar and permitting the pedal-lever to reassume its raisedposition when the said sliding bar is operated and another detonat-orfed between the hammer-lever and anvil, substantially as set forth.

12. In a fogsignal, the combination of the hammer-lever provided with apivoted detent, a pedal-lever pivoted parallel with the rail andnormally projecting above it, a rockshaft operated by said pedal-lever,an arm secured on said rock-shaft for actuating the ITO hammer-lever andadapted to be retained by said detent after once operating thehammerlever to hold the pedal-lever in its depressed position, a slidingbar operated by the semaphore han'd-lever, a projection attached to saidsliding bar for striking said arm and i still further depressing thepedal-let'er, and

a link pivotally connecting the sliding bar with the detent, whereby thedetent may be 10 swiveled out of the return path of the said arm on therock-shaft, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twowitnesses.

ISAAC FRANCES TAYLOR. Witnesses:

GEO. JAs, FRANKLIN, 17 GTdCOhLWCh Street, London, E. O.

WALTER J. SKERTEN, 17 Gmcechm'ch Street, London.

